1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to garments or clothes such as jackets and, more particularly, the invention relates to garments structured and arranged to adapt them to weather and temperature changes.
2. Background Information
Under inclement and cold weather conditions, the wearer may desire greater arm dexterity, but may not wish to expose, even temporarily, the upper part of his/her body to inclement weather. In the past, many different types of approaches have been made to provide garments of various types having removable sleeves.
The problem in connection with such sleeves is that frequently there is no convenient storage place for the sleeves once they are detached, so that the detached sleeves might be lost or may be not easily retrieved and reinstalled for arm protection and warmth. Additionally, it is frequently desirable to have a garment which, while being worn, can be easily manipulated so that the sleeves can be removed from arm areas and conveniently stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,059 discloses a jacket having removable sleeves. The sleeves are attached to the torso portion, or vest portion, of the jacket using a zipper. The path of the zipper is essentially circular and it is positioned at the junction between the torso portion and the sleeve. One length of the zipper extends around the upper and of the sleeve and the other length of the zipper is arranged on the shoulder seams of the torso portion of the jacket. The removed sleeves are stored inside the jacket. This jacket has many disadvantages such as, for example, the need to remove the jacket prior to the removal of the sleeves; or the discomfort of the wearer when the jacket is worn sleeve-less and the zipper-half of the torso portion comes into contact with the armpit. Further, when the jacket is worn without the sleeves, the sleeveless jacket becomes bulky and results in greater warmth from the detached sleeves being stored inside the vest portion of the garment.
Other prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,495 and FR 2474285.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,495 discloses a coat garment having semi-detachable sleeves and a pocket for receiving such sleeves in their semi-detached condition, the sleeves having essentially longitudinal, selectively openable seams for accommodating arm removal from such sleeves. The sleeves can then be tucked into the pocket provided in a storage pouch provided in the back of the coat proximate the sleeve openings. This coat has the disadvantage that the removal of arms from sleeves still remain uncomfortable for the wearer who doesn't take off the coat. Moreover, the sleeve-less coat becomes bulky and warmer when the sleeves are stored inside the garment and wearer's shoulders are not protected when the garment is worn sleeve-less.
FR 2474285 discloses a garment with retractable sleeves that can be tucked into arm annular pockets. However, those annular pockets still provide discomfort to the wearer and wearer's shoulders are still not protecting when the garment is worn sleeve-less.